Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War

Most Dangerous explores the ethics of whistleblowing by questioning whether an individual has the right to release government secrets to the American public. When Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers, he was simultaneously celebrated as a hero and condemned as a traitor. The book examines the complex dynamics of how, on the one hand, the government is entitled to keep secrets in the name of national security, but on the other hand, there must be a level of transparency between the government and the American people—this is necessary to allow for a properly functioning democracy and avoid the abuse of power.

When Ellsberg began working at the Pentagon, he knew that the government must keep some secrets as a matter of national security. Furthermore, he understood that exposing government secrets was considered fundamentally unpatriotic. As part of his job, he quickly recognized that the government was “telling Congress and the public only part of the story” regarding Vietnam (31). However, he knew “secrecy was an essential element of military operations” (310). President Johnson argued that an individual “had every right to make his case within the government” (134), but after “a decision has been made, he has an equal obligation to carry it out with all his energy and wisdom” (134).